HoopsHype.com Rumors

Marc J. Spears: While Celtics free agent Brandon Bass interested in re-signing, Pacers, Nets, Mavs, Heat (sign and trade), Knicks and Hawks intrigued too. Twitter

Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Free Agency, Trade, Brandon Bass 

The Celtics are expected to meet with Brandon Bass’s representatives this weekend to begin discussions on a potential extension. Boston Globe

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Brandon Bass 

The Celts still are hoping to sign Jeff Green and Brandon Bass, and they’ve made a qualifying offer to Greg Stiemsma, making him a restricted free agent and giving them the option to match any offer he gets. Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Brandon Bass, Jeff Green, Greg Stiemsma 

The Boston Celtics came close to trading for Memphis' O.J. Mayo just before March's trading deadline, and it appears their interest remains just as strong now. A league source said the C's continue to be enamored with the 6-foot-5 shooting guard, and are considering making another run at him. The source said no deal is imminent, but it appears the Celtics are willing to offer up Brandon Bass via a sign and trade. CSNNE.com

Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies, Trade, OJ Mayo, Brandon Bass 

Gary Washburn: Source said #celtics are not offering a S&T for Brandon Bass in deals, in fact they are interested in re-signing him Twitter

Boston Celtics, Trade, Brandon Bass 

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Thursday his hope is to reload the team for another run at the title. The Celtics have four unrestricted free agents - Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Brandon Bass, and Mickael Pietrus - that Ainge said he would like to re-sign for next season. The key piece, of course, is Garnett, who has yet to decide if he even wants to play next season. Boston Globe

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Ray Allen, Danny Ainge, Mickael Pietrus, Brandon Bass, Kevin Garnett 

Ainge admitted that renouncing Garnett -- or any of Boston's big-name free agents like Allen, Brandon Bass, or Jeff Green -- is unlikely. Ainge hinted that re-signing the team's own free agents, particularly with a slim pool of available bodies on the open market, might be the team's best approach this offseason. ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Danny Ainge, Brandon Bass, Jeff Green, Kevin Garnett 

While there has been considerable speculation as to what Bass will do this summer, his agent tells CSNNE.com that the 6-foot-8 forward plans to not opt-in to the final year of his contract, and thus test the free agent waters. CSNNE.com

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Brandon Bass 

However, all indications are that Bass is hoping to return to the Celtics with a multi-year deal. "Oh absolutely," his agent Tony Dutt said when asked if Boston was his client's first choice. "Without question, he would love to go back." The decision to not pick up the final year of his contract, worth $4.25 million, is driven by Bass' desire to sign a long-term deal with the C's. CSNNE.com

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Brandon Bass 

Chris Forsberg: Interesting note from agent Tony Dutt: Bass took less cash to play in Orlando; might consider same for Boston (needs fair-value contract) Twitter

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Brandon Bass 

Chris Forsberg: Dutt: "Obviously, he'd love to be back in Boston... my gut tells me they are going to want to keep him." Twitter

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Brandon Bass 

Then, on his way out of the arena, Pietrus took a detour across the court to where teammate Brandon Bass was conducting a postmortem with Comcast SportsNet New England commentators Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine. You can always discuss who made shots and who didn't, but making sure fans know you love them should never wait. So, naturally, Pietrus commandeered the spot. Behold: Yahoo! Sports

Boston Celtics, Brian Scalabrine, Media, Brandon Bass 

"He's like that a lot, isn't he?" Gorman asked after Pietrus exited stage right. "Yeah. That's Mickael Pietrus," Bass replied. Yahoo! Sports

Boston Celtics, Brian Scalabrine, Media, Brandon Bass 

Brandon Bass has a player option for next season and all indications are that he will exercise it after averaging career highs in points and rebounds. After the Celtics season ended abruptly in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, Bass said he hasn't thought too much about the future but he also made it clear that he wants to return. WEEI.com

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Brandon Bass 

"I do," he said when asked if he thought he would be back. "I would love to be back here. The fans here are unbelievable. For any player, this organization is the organization that you want to play for." WEEI.com

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Brandon Bass 

Bass said he would consider himself a Celtics vet if he was able to return next year. He's played on three other teams in his seven-year career, but it sounds like he wants to make Boston a permanent stop. WEEI.com

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Brandon Bass 

There are other possible landing places as well. Maybe the Lakers? Garnett has a home in Malibu, and the Lakers have Kobe Bryant. What they don’t have is cap room, but that can be resolved if they agree to a sign and trade for Pau Gasol. The Lakers desperately want Gasol’s contract (three years, $60 million) off the cap and tried to trade him last summer. The Celtics, with only Pierce and Rondo making decent money, could take Gasol, although that would likely prevent them from re-signing Brandon Bass. NBA.com

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Trade, Pau Gasol, Brandon Bass, Kevin Garnett 

The Celtics responded to a Game 4 wakeup call by routing the Philadelphia 76ers in the second half in taking a 101-85 Game 5 victory Monday night at TD Garden. Boston has a 3-2 series edge entering Game 6 in Philadelphia Wednesday night. Bass, averaging 10.1 points in the series before Monday night, scored 18 of his 27 points in the third quarter as the Celtics went on 10-0 and 12-4 runs to take control of the contest. But first-half signs did not point to a double-digit margin of victory, and the Celtics did not regain the lead for good until late in the third quarter. “We weren’t right in the first half,’’ coach Doc Rivers said. “You could just feel it. We just . . . it was funny, you could see all our guys, they were looking at each other every time someone made a shot. “I don’t want to get corny, but it was like the Celtic spirit, it wasn’t there. I talked about it a couple times in timeouts. And I just told our coaches we’ve just got to somehow get through this half and just see if we can just gather them back.’’ Boston Globe

Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Brandon Bass 

Whether it was the ridiculous offensive foul call on Kevin Garnett against Spencer Hawes four minutes after halftime that elicited chants of “bull[stuff], bull[stuff]” or the barrage of Brandon Bass buckets, the Celtics awoke a Boston crowd that sleepwalked through the first half. Or was it the other way around? “This goddamned crowd here sparks you,” said Garnett (20 points, 8-17 FG). “It doesn’t take much here, man. … When speaking about this crowd, man, it’s like plugging in. They’re enthused from 48 minutes on, from the tip on, so I can’t see the difference between minute from minute. I feel like every minute I look up, I see my family, I see people yelling, I see the drunk fat guy. I can decipher one from the other. This crowd is ridiculous, man. I love it.” WEEI.com

Boston Celtics, Brandon Bass, Kevin Garnett 

That run erased an 18-point (49-31) Celtics lead, and gave the Sixers renewed hope. Rondo, Garnett, Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley all fell into foul trouble, and the Celtics responded by falling back on their heels. “When you have a chance to go up 3-1 in a series and you’re up and you’re on the road, what else are they going to do?” said Doc Rivers. “That’s what they should do, and that’s what was so disappointing. They are going to get into you, they are going to grab your hands, they are going to foul you. That’s what they should do, but we acted like we were surprised by it, and I was disappointed in that. “Tonight it was a matter (of composure),” he said. “I don’t know about Game 1 and 2, but tonight it was that simple. We had the lead. We had a chance to go up 3-1. I really didn’t think from the first quarter on that we played with the same discipline that we had in the first quarter, in my opinion. We start turning the ball over. We start making home run passes, and even though we still had a lead, I thought they chipped into the lead and allowed them to hang around in the game.” Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Doc Rivers, Avery Bradley, Brandon Bass